Menopause is the natural cessation of a woman’s monthly menstrual cycle. It usually occurs between 45-55 years of age. At menopause, a woman’s ovaries stop producing eggs and her fertility hormones decrease.

According to Ayurveda, different phases of our life are marked by a predominance of different ‘Doshas’. ‘Kapha’ is naturally predominant from birth to puberty, ‘Pitta’ is naturally predominant from puberty until mid-life, and ‘Vata’ is predominant after the age of 50 years.

Menopause accompanies the transition from the ‘Pitta’ to ‘Vata’ phases of life. Generally, menopause shows increases in ‘Vata’ and ‘Pitta’ and little change in ‘Kapha’.

So it’s a transition period, a very important time in a woman’s life where she has an opportunity to prioritize care for her health and wellbeing in all aspects- Physically, Mentally, Emotionally, Sexually, and Spiritually.

Menopausal symptoms: Not all women have severe symptoms but may have some degree of one or more of these:

• Cyclical changes such as irregularity or heavy bleeding.
• Unnatural Weight gain, Fluid retention.
• Dry skin, Hair and Nails, Itching.
• Insomnia, Anxiety, Heart palpitations, Depression.
• Fatigue, Low libido.
• Confusion or difficulty concentrating, Scattered thoughts & Poor memory, Mood swings and Irritability.
• Hot flushes and Night sweats.
• Headaches or Migraine.
• Vaginal dryness.
• Breast tenderness.
• Increased frequency of urination or incontinence, Increased possibility of urinary tract infection.
• Muscle, joint pain and inflammation. Osteopenia and over time, increased risk of osteoporosis.

After an initial assessment of the mind-body constitution and current symptoms by an Ayurvedic physician, ayurvedic treatment can be tailored to the patient.

The main goal of ayurvedic treatment is to establish the balance of ‘Vata’ and ‘Pitta Doshas’, improve the digestive fire (Agni) and eradicate toxins (Ama) from the body.
Ayurvedic recommendations for menopause include:

• Introduce a ‘Vata-Pitta’ pacifying diet, that is warm, Light, Cooked, Fresh, and unctuous (Containing good oils) food.
• Avoid dry, cold, fermented, left-over foods, refined sugar and red meats.
• Avoid alcohol and caffeine.
• Regular, mild-moderate exercise is good to combat the symptoms. Exercises that relax the nervous system, such as Walking, Yoga and Meditation are excellent.
• To calm ‘Vata’, it is very important to create regular routines around your Sleep, Food, Work, Exercise and Family time.
• Self-massage with warm oil (Abhyanga) and nasal medication (Nasya) where you place some drops of oil in each nostril can assist with hormonal balancing.

Ayurvedic diet is planned to stop weight gain and to reduce perimenopausal symptoms.